Heat of Winter
by LERDM
Summary: Damian Wayne had contented himself to the fact that he would never know an equal. Perhaps that was why, when he met the result of Lex Luthor's experiment with Kyroptonian DNA, he found himself becoming completely mesmerized by her. Of course, the universe is never so simple. Damian x OC, will explore the Injustice universe as well.
1. Chapter 1

Clark was beyond words as he stared at the girl in a glass cage. She had cuffs on her wrists with green strips of Kryptonite. She stood up and watched Clark stare at her. She couldn't have been any older than 10.

She watched his movements carefully, not making a sound.

He inched closer to her, "What's your name?"

She just kept staring at him, he thought she wasn't going to say anything, but then she spoke with a shaky voice. "I don't think I have one."

Clark went up to the glass, "Why are you in here?"

"I don't know. I've never left."

"I'm gonna get you out of here, alright?" Clark said. He touched his earpiece, "Guys, we have a situation in the basement."

"We'll be right there," Diana spoke.

Not a few moments later, the rest of the Justice League walked into the lab.

The girl stared at them, Clark almost thought she was afraid of them, but that wasn't quite right.

Diana went to talk to the girl with Flash as Bruce, Cyborg and Superman tried to figure out how to disable the advanced security keeping her in there.

"What's your name little one?" Diana asked.

"Some of the scientists called me January," the little girl said. "Are you going to let me out?"

Diana nodded, "Yes, don't you worry, we'll get you out of here."

The girl, January, looked hesitant. "I won't have to hurt anyone this time, will I?"

Diana and Barry froze in place.

"What?" Barry asked.

"Sometimes Mr. Luthor comes down here and says he'll let me out, but I always have to do something first."

Diana's heart broke for the girl, "Where are your parents?"

"Mr. Luthor says that science is my mother, and progress is my father."

The way she spoke was far too robotic for a 10-year-old.

"We're going to help you, we're the Justice League."

"I know who you are, Mr. Luthor said that one day I am supposed to destroy you."

Just then, Bruce and Cyborg managed to open the locked door on the side of the room, and unlocked the kryptonite cuffs on her wrists. Barry watched with a hint of concern, but the kid didn't attack them.

Clark felt a little sick as he looked at her raw, red, wrists. Who did this to a child?

"Superman, look at this," Bruce said.

Clark looked over Bruce's shoulder at what looked like a medical report.

"They used your DNA, she's your daughter... sort of."

Clark briefly looked over his shoulder to where Diana was taking a look at the girl's wrists.

"It wouldn't change anything if she wasn't. She's Kryptonian, I'll take her."

Bruce smiled a little, "Is Lois going to be alright with this?"

... Three Years Later ...

"Jan!" Lois called. "Time to get going to school don't you think?"

The thirteen-year-old grumbled. "Why do I even need to go to school? I already know everything."

"It's best to keep up appearances Jan, come on, I have time to drop you off if you'd like?" Lois said with a smile.

"No, that's alright, I like to walk," Jan had said.

Ever since the Justice League had freed her from Luthor's prison, she didn't love to be caught in small spaces.

"Remeber to get home on time, we're having guests over for dinner," Lois said. "Have a great day, kiddo."

"Thanks, Lois, you too."

January walked down to Metropolis Central High School while Lois drove to the Daily Planet.

When she got there, she was greeted by Clark who had left far earlier that morning.

"How was Jan?" He asked, trying not to seem like he cared too much. They had been fighting a lot recently. She'd been sneaking out at night and not telling them where she's been going. Clark was just worried, but Lois understood the girl. She had been raised in a single, white room that she hadn't left unil she was 10 years old. She wanted to be able to come and go as she pleased.

"She's still mad at you," Lois said. "But she's getting over it."

Clark sighed and rubbed his face. "I just- you understand, don't you? She can't just sneak out whenever the mood hits her."

"I know Clark, you're worried, but... she _can_ take care of herself," Lois said.

Perry walked up to them, "So, January snuck out again? You know, I have three teenage daughters, you know what gets them to stay home? Letting their friends come over whenever they want. Sure it's annoying to wake up and find six 17-year-olds in your kitchen eating ramen, but..." Perry shrugged, "It's better than nothing."

Clark nodded as Lois laughed a little, "Thanks, Perry."

Their day went by in relative peacefulness.

Clark texted January asking about her day and she didn't reply. He gazed out the window, looking through buildings to make sure she was in class. She was actually typing a response.

"I'm bored. Big surprise. I see you've been quite unproductive yourself."

"You should pay attention, maybe you'd learn something."

"You're the one who texted me. And this is basic mathematics, Luthor taught me this when I was six years old, I assure you, I would not."

Clark sighed, maybe the kid was right, maybe they should have gotten her a private tutor, but... he just wanted her to have a normal life, now that she was free from Luthor, but she seemed to have a distaste for it.

Her final text of: "Get back to work, Clark." He put his phone down and sighed. It was a long day at work.

When he and Lois got home, January was standing, hands folded behind her back like a soldier, in front of the window. She was staring out at the city with a soft smile on her face.

"Wow, a whole smile! What's got you in such a good mood?" Lois asked, coming up behind her girl and putting a comforting hand on her shoulder.

January glanced down at her phone where she had gotten a text, her lips quirked up.

"Nothing," she said. She went into her room and shut the door.

Lois smiled to Clark, "Well, that's unusual."

Clark was smiling a little, "Yeah, it's good." He stopped and thought for a moment. "Do you think it's a boy?"

Lois laughed and smacked Clark on the arm. "Come on, help me make dinner."

Later that night...

January had just finished setting the table when the doorbell rang. Clark opened it and hugged his friend. "Bruce, how are you doing?"

Bruce smiled, "I'm good. This is Damian, my son, and this," he paused as Selina Kyle made herself visible. "Is Selina, my fiancee."

Lois and Clark looked at each other with a little bit of shock. They knew that Bruce was bringing Selina, but they didn't know that the two of them were engaged.

"Oh! Congratulations!" Lois said, coming to the door.

"This is Lois, and... January."

Bruce almost didn't recognize the girl. The last time he saw her was in Luthor's basement. She had long hair now, looked healthier, not quite so pale.

Clark glanced toward Damian and saw that his heartbeat was a little raised. Why would-? Ooooh... he liked January. That's cute. And January's heartbeat was elevated too! Aww! Clark was a sucker for a good romance. Just ask Lois, he cried through their entire date night movie.

"Hey Damian," January said causally.

"January, nice to meet you in person," Damian replied. He held out his hand, January shook it. Bruce and Clark looked at the two of them in confusion.

"Have the two of you met before?" Clark asked.

"No," Damian replied with zero additional information.

"We text," January supplied.

It made Clark feel better that Bruce seemed equally as confused as he did.

"Uh, alright then, well, please come in," Clark said.

They ate dinner with relatively zero noise from the kids, then, when it was over, Damian and January went into the office.

"Okay this is what I got so far, the program's a little slow-moving, but it'll mine out all the files eventually," January said, showing the code to Damian.

"Hmm, you are not as incompetent as you seemed when we first encountered each other, I am... impressed."

January snorted, "Thanks."

"It was meant as a compliment."

January shook her head slightly. "So, did you bring it?"

"I did."

"Thanks."

"Is the plan still on?" Damian asked.

"Yes, I've been working on it all week, I think it'll work."

"Excellent, I-"

"Kids?" Lois called from the main living area.

Damian and January walked out to them.

"I think we're all going to go out for a bit. Are the two of you alright here alone?" Lois asked.

January smiled a little, "Yeah, we'll be fine. Go have fun or whatever."

"What are the two of you going to do while we're gone?" Bruce asked.

"Scrabble," Damian supplied.

Bruce and Clark looked at each other and shrugged, "Okay, we'll be back before midnight."

"See you," January said.

Her and Damian waited for a little after they left before Damian pulled two suits out of his backpack. One was his Robin suit, and the other was something Damian had gotten made for her.

They went into separate rooms before coming out in their respective suits as Robin and Blue Jay.

"I see it fits well," Damian commented.

January blushed slightly, but it couldn't be seen under her mask.

"Thanks again, Damian."

"It was not an issue. I am glad that there is now someone else who will be able to help me patrol," Damian replied.

"Okay, let's head up to the roof." The two of them went up to the roof of the building, and January put her arm around Damian. "Grab onto my shoulder," January told him. He did, and then he suddenly found himself flying through the air. It was actually quite a pleasant feeling.

The two of them were in Gotham in no time at all, landing on one of the rooftops in crime alley. January was breathing a bit heavier.

"Was that strenuous?" Damian asked her.

"No, it's more like a... like a light jog," January said. She was only half Kryptonian after all, she couldn't expect to have the exact same abilities as Superman.

"Good. We will be needing your strength," Damian started, "Are you impervious to bullets?"

"Yes, I got your back," January said.

Damian nodded, "Here's the plan..."

They were just wrapping up around 11:30.

January punched the last man unconscious and took a step back as Damian went through their phones.

"Got what you need?" January asked.

"Yes." He turned to look at her. "This partnership was surprisingly satisfactory. I would like to continue."

"Same here. That was fun," January said.

Their nice moment was undercut when they were joined by two unwanted and unexpected guests. Clark and Bruce.

"Diabolical!" Damian exploded. "How would you like it if I followed you everywhere and listened to everything you said?!"

"Yeah!" January said in agreement.

"You do do that," Clark and Bruce said at the same time.

"Where did you get this suit?" Clark asked with confusion.

"I provided it for her," Damian said. "I could not have my partner in less than fitting dress."

Bruce and Clark were actually shocked. How did these two manage to coordinate this under their noses?

"Well, she won't be needing it. You're grounded," Clark said.

January just shook her head, "That's not fair, I-"

"You keep sneaking out, you're scaring your mother and I. As long as you live under my roof you'll-"

"Then I won't live under your roof! And you're not my father!" January shouted. She flew off as Clark's face fell.

"Get in the Batmobile," Bruce said to Damian without an ounce of further patience. Damian complied grumpily.

Bruce then turned to Clark.

"Did I... say the right thing? What the hell am I supposed to do?" Clark asked.

"Just go after her Clark, you'll know what to do," Bruce said. He patted his friend on the shoulder and got into the Batmobile.

Clark had some doubts. It seemed to him that Bruce was a natural father, maybe Clark just... wasn't.

He flew after her, he saw where she landed, on the top of the tallest building in Gotham.

"What do you want?" January asked scathingly.

"Listen, Jan, I just... I worry about you. I don't know what I would do if something happened to you."

"Why?"

Clark blinked. "What?"

"Why do you care about what happens to me?"

"Because I love you, January, you're my daughter, you're the only other living person who's Kryptonian, and-"

"There it is," January interrupted. "That's really just it isn't it? You couldn't bear losing me, because you're afraid of being alone? You've never been alone, you've never known what it's like to be so alone that you'd rather kill someone than go one more day-"

"That's not what I meant, I-"

"Then what did you mean?" January snapped.

"I care about you, I want you to be able to live a happy life, and this is the way I know how."

January debated that for a moment before lowering her head, "Then how come, for the first time in a while, I'm actually happy, and then you show up and tell me to stop?"

"You really liked going out and doing that?" Clark asked with a smile.

January shrugged, "Yeah, it was cool, I felt like... like I was strong. And Damian is my friend."

Clark sighed and rubbed a hand on his face, "Listen if you really want to do this... then, I guess you can." A larger smile than Clark had seen on the girl's face bloomed. "But I can't have you going out alone, you have to always be with Damian."

January nodded happily, "Thanks, Clark. I... it means a lot to me, that you trust me."

Clark put an arm around her shoulders, "Of course I do. Gotham's going to be lucky to have you. Now, let's go home. We brought you back some mini donuts."

Lois was waiting worriedly when they arrived back in Metropolis.

January smiled sheepishly as Lois began her rant.

"...I know that I'm not your mother, but I love you, and I care about you, and I need to know that you're out there being safe!" The rant ended.

January nodded, "Okay, I'm sorry."

"Good, now, let's about your school," Lois said.

January groaned.

"We got a phone call from one of your teachers, Mr. Mackenzie, saying that he wanted to meet with us to talk about your grades," Clark said.

"We thought you were doing good at school," Lois said.

"I am, I don't really know what he wants to talk with you about, I have an A in his class."

Lois and Clark looked at each other and shrugged, "Well, we're going to meet with him on Monday."

"Okay, I'm gonna go to sleep," January said.

"Okay, goodnight," Clark said.

Later that night...

Clark seemed restless.

"Is something the matter?" Lois asked.

"Jan's still awake, she's texting with someone," Clark said.

"It's probably Damian," Lois said.

Clark smiled a little, "Yeah, probably."

In the other room.

_"I've gotten word that tomorrow night there is a large shipment of drugs coming into Gotham. -D"_

_"When do you want to meet? -J"_

_"Come to the manor whenever you are finished with school so we can discuss a plan of action. -D"_

_"Okay, I'll get there around 3:30. See you then. -J"_


	2. Chapter 2

Lois and Clark went to the school to meet with January's teacher while January flew to Gotham.

Mr. Mackenzie was quite displeased with January.

"I believe that your daughter is a serial cheater Mr. and Mrs. Kent," he said. "She is never paying attention in class, and yet she is often top of the class. That doesn't seem strange to you?"

"She's a very smart girl!" Lois snapped. "Do you have any evidence at all?"

"In fact, I do. Here are the past three tests she's written, and here are the tests from my top students."

Clark and Lois could see how the man would get the impression that January was cheating. The 'top three students' each seemed to get a question wrong, and January always got those questions wrong as well, but she never got any other questions wrong.

Lois figured that the girl was just trying to get ones wrong that would seem reasonable to get wrong if the 'top students' got them wrong too.

"Well, if your best students go them wrong, then why couldn't Jan?" Clark asked.

"Because she has never, ever, gotten a question wrong that these three haven't. She isn't making her own mistakes, because she's copying off of the other students."

Lois and Clark looked at each other.

"Well, even if you had actual proof that she was cheating, which she isn't, what would you like us to do about it?" Lois asked.

"I'd like you to tell her that I'm onto her, and if she doesn't stop I'll have her expelled."

* * *

January leaned over Damian's shoulder while looking at the computer screen.

"So then I come out of the west entrance and we meet up back in front?"

"Correct," Damian spoke. January stepped back as he got up from the chair. "Also, I reviewed the medical reports from last night. It seems you are stronger than I accounted for. So I thought, in order to avoid the accidental use of lethal force, that you may want to consider using this."

He held out a bo-staff to her and January took it.

"How's this going to help?" She questioned.

"It will break if you hit someone with it too hard. So don't break it."

January smiled a bit, "Thanks." Then her phone began to buzz on the table, it was Clark. She picked it up and answered, "Hello?"

"Hey Jan, so we just finished talking with your teacher. He thinks you're cheating because you keep copying the wrong answers from his best students," Clark's voice said.

January scowled, "I hate that man."

"That's not exactly fair Jan," Clark said. "You just need to answer some randomly wrong next time okay?"

"Whatever," January huffed.

"No, not whatever, he said if he thinks you're cheating again he's gonna get you expelled."

"Good then, I hate that school anyway."

"No, that's not- Jan, if you get expelled you're in big trouble."

"Sure, whatever you say Clark." January hung up.

...

"She hung up on me," Clark said to Lois.

Lois sighed, "I know you don't like the idea, but I was talking to Selina the other night and she said that if Jan went to a private school she wouldn't have to hide how smart she is. Damian goes to Gotham academy and gets an A+ in every class and no one bats an eye."

Lois was right, Clark did not like that idea.

"I just-" He sighed. "I want her to be happy, really. And I thought that I would be better at this, because I had such a good example of a father."

"Clark... it's not hard because you're a bad father, it's hard because, well, she was raised as a science experiment, as a weapon. And no matter how much we love her now, that's always going to be with her. Trust me when I tell you, that you are going to be the best father, to a child who isn't going to know anything but love," Lois said.

Clark was driving, and he almost swerved off the road as he stared at Lois' stomach. He could see...

"I... how did I not notice before?" Clark asked in happy shock.

Lois laughed a little. "I think that your mind has been a little more preoccupied with other things."

Clark beamed, "Thank you, Lois. I love you, so much."

"I love you too Clark."

"So... do you think Jan's going to be happy?" Clark asked after a moment.

"I think she will be," Lois said hopefully.

... Later That Night ...

January dug the butt of her bo-staff into a criminal's back as Damian stood in front of the man.

"Talk. Now." Damian was excellent at interrogations, his sharp voice always managed to find answers.

"I-I don't know anything! Please! I got a family!" He cried.

"Everyone has a family, this has no consequence on my impression of you. Now. Who. Is. Your. Supplier?"

"I-It's B-Blackmask, please, just let me go!"

January and Damian both looked at each other with confusion.

"We were under the impression that you worked for Scarecrow," Damian spoke.

"No, we used to, but there was a change of plans last minute. Blackmask said he wanted to keep Red Hood off his tail!"

January glanced to Damian, "Should we cuff him?" He nodded and January pulled the cuffs out of her belt and clamped them on the man. Damian started to walk away and January followed. "What do we do now?"

"We must, unfortunately, speak to Todd."

"You are," a man's voice spoke from above. The Red Hood dropped down in front of them. "Actually, I wanted to talk to the two of you."

"Tt. What do you want Todd?"

"Just wanted to see this new sidekick you've got here," Jason said with a smirk, though, they couldn't tell.

"Partner," Damian and January corrected at the same time.

Jason chuckled, "Whatever. So... the two of you have been doing some good work. Colour me impressed. But stay out of my turf, got it?"

"How about you stay out of _our_ way, Todd," Damian said.

January looked between the two brothers (sort of). "Come on Robin, let's go. We were only here because we thought he didn't know about it."

Jason looked at January, "Who are you?" He turned back to Damian, "Did you just blow our covers?"

"I know who everyone is, Jason," January said.

Jason seemed suspicious, but Damian wanted to rub it in. "This is Superman's daughter."

Jason's body language changed to one of hesitation. January didn't like it when people she wasn't trying to scare were afraid of her. "Not really, I mean... sort of."

"Well, looks like we've all got daddy issues, great. Stay off my turf," Jason said, pointing to Damian at the last part.

Damian shook his head. "Insufferable."

January wanted to laugh, but settled on a smile instead.

"What amuses you?" Damian asked.

"You're just funny," January said. "Come on, let's head back to the manor."

They walked back to Damian's bike. It would be easy for January to fly them back to the Batcave, but Damian didn't want her to be too tired to fly back to Metropolis.

When they got back, Bruce was gone, and Damian invited her to stay for a bit longer.

...

Bruce was waiting for Clark on a building in Gotham. He had a police scanner on low volume, peripherally listening to make sure that Robin and Blue Jay weren't getting into too much trouble.

Clark landed, grinning.

"Bruce, you're never going to guess what I just found out."

"Lois is pregnant," Bruce said with a completely straight face.

"Wha- how?! How could you possibly know that?"

"I suspected it when we had dinner a few days ago, but you're also grinning like an idiot."

Clark shook his head and glanced at the police scanner, "You keeping an eye on the kids?"

"I always do, but they've been quiet tonight," Bruce said.

Clark looked out across the city and smiled a little as he saw them.

"They're in the Batcave, watching a movie," Clark said.

Bruce's lips quirked upward slightly. "They've gotten along very well. I'm surprised. Damian doesn't usually... tolerate others well."

"January... she's never had many friends. I think this'll be good for her."

They stood there in silence for a while longer, "Want to go crash their party?"

"Yep."

They arrived in the Batcave about 20 minutes later.

"Okay, but really, why would anyone think that-"

"It's just a movie Damian, it's not real."

"I understand the concept of fiction, but they are making the most absurd decisions." January laughed wildly and it took Clark by surprise, he had never heard January laugh like that before. "What is humourous about my response?"

"So, so much."

Clark and Bruce walked around the corner to see Damian sitting completely straight on the couch, and January sitting sideways, feet up on the armrest and her head resting on Damian's shoulder.

Clark smiled, "Come on Jan, let's get going."

She swung her feet to the ground and stood, Damian was right behind her. He towered over her easily, but no one was fooled into thinking that he was the muscle of the pair.

January and Clark flew off into the night and Damian watched them go with a hint of a smile on his face.

"You like her, don't you?" Bruce asked a little teasingly.

Damian did not pick up on Bruce's tone. "Yes, she is an extremely admirable partner. Her presence pleases me." He then went upstairs to get some sleep.

Bruce watched him go with a little smile, "He's growing up."

...

The next couple months were a whirlwind. Lois told Jan that she was pregnant, Jan said she already knew. Lois was slightly disappointed at January's less than enthusiastic response. January was trying to blend in a bit more at school, though, she still hated it. Mostly she texted Damian under her desk about what they were going to do that night.

She stayed out with Damian later and later into the night until it became common for her to stay over at the Wayne manor and fly back for school in the morning. When Clark and Lois found out the baby was a boy, it had been three days since they had actually laid eyes on her.

Clark was going to go over to Gotham and drag her back to Metropolis for a few days whether she liked it or not, when the Justice League was called.

January was there, on one side of Bruce, on the other was Damian.

"I've called you here because Robin and Blue Jay have uncovered a plot by the Joker and Scarecrow to detonate a nuclear bomb in Metropolis," Bruce spoke.

Clark instantly became worried about Lois, but he was equally concerned about the seriousness of the mission, and why Bruce was letting January and Damian become involved.

Bruce began to lay out the plan of action. Batman, Blue Jay and Green Lantern were going to figure out the situation with Scarecrow in Gotham, while the rest of the group, including Damian, would be handling the threat of the nuclear bomb in Metropolis.

Damian pulled January aside, "You know how to call me if you're in trouble."

"Yeah, same goes for you." January squeezed his hand and Clark felt a bit of a pang in his chest. Were they... together? It was January's first boyfriend and he'd missed it.

Then they split up.

...

January had a bad feeling about this, it didn't make her feel better that clearly Damian did too. She took one of Bruce's arms and Green Lantern took the other, and they made their way back to Gotham.

They weren't getting anywhere, they were chasing dead ends. And then January got the call.

"Blue Jay! The Joker's got Lois, Superman's heading there now, but it's a trap!" Damian yelled over the comms.

She looked at Bruce, who nodded, and she took off. She flew faster than she'd ever flown before, and she landed in front of Clark. Lois was behind her.

Clark wasn't looking too good, he had a green tinge in his eyes that January recognized as Scarecrow's fear toxin.

"Lois, get out of here, now," January said.

"Jan, I-"

"Now. Clark isn't himself, leave before he does something that can't be undone."

Lois left, jumping into the water, Green Lantern picked her up and brought her back to the city.

"Clark, I don't know what you're seeing, but I want you to know, if you can hear me, that whatever is about to happen, it isn't your fault."

"Doomsday!" Clark shouted at January.

She barely managed to dodge the red beams that shot out at her from his eyes. She lept up and got behind him, grabbing his arms and trying to pull them back. Damian taught her the best ways to immobilize someone, but it was so much easier when she was stronger than them.

He slowly managed to pull her closer to him and threw his head back. She let go of his arms and she stumbled backward.

"Blue Jay! What's going on over there?!" Bruce shouted over the comms.

January had absolutely no time to respond. Superman had his hands around her throat and then all of a sudden they were high above Metropolis.

She was gasping for breath as they entered the upper atmosphere. January managed to get in a good punch across Superman's face, which freed her from his grasp. She flew back down to the ground and radioed Bruce.

"Superman's been exposed to Scarecrow's gas, he's attacking anything in his sight. Stay away, I can-ah!"

She was bowled over by Superman flying back to Earth at Supersonic speeds, they went through a few walls before she kicked him off of her.

"Please, listen to me, this isn't real, what you're seeing isn't real."

"What did you do with them?!" Clark shouted at her.

"Lois is safe! Your son is safe!" January called to him. She picked up a piece of pipe from the ground of the building they had crashed into and managed to get in a few hits on him.

He swiped the pipe from her hand and in one agonizing moment, he stabbed her through the stomach with it and then ripped it out and tossed it aside.

"Where is January?!" Clark shouted in her face.

A tear slipped down her cheek. She tried to speak, but only a pained cry left her mouth. He gripped her throat once again.

"Clark... Clark..." January gasped out as her feet were lifted off the ground. "D- da-" Clark's eyes were beginning to clear up, and his grip on her neck loosened. He had been waiting to hear her call him dad for so long, for nearly four years, that hearing it now, after what he'd done... it helped snap him out of it. "Da- Damian." He saw the flashing light of the comm in her ear and knew that she wasn't talking to him. He dropped her and took a few shocked steps back.

Then, Batman, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman and Robin came onto the scene. Bruce's eyes widened as he saw what had happened. Clark's hands were shaking. Damian was looking at Superman like he wanted his head, which was true, but he went to January first.

He knelt beside her and grabbed the hand that reached out for him.

"It's okay, I have you," Damian said quietly. He very carefully picked her up, but she still let out several pained cries into his shoulder. Clark was staring at her with a pained expression, he took a step towards Damian, reaching out his hand. Damian was not willing to give him a chance. "If you touch her again, I will end you!" He snarled.

"Robin take her back to the Batcave," Batman said. Then he turned to Clark, whose eyes were beginning to well up.

"I... What happened? I thought- it was Doomsday."

"It wasn't your fault," Bruce said. "Scarecrow exposed you to fear toxin."

Clark looked around in horror, "Where- where's Lois? Please tell me I didn't-"

"Clark!" Lois called as she stepped into the building.

"Oh thank God," Clark said. He completely broke down in Lois' arms. "I-I didn't mean to- I almost killed her."

"It's okay, it's going to be okay," Lois repeated reassuringly.

...

Damian made it back to the Batcave in record time.

"Alfred!" Damian shouted.

The old Butler came down the stairs and paused for a moment before quickly getting everything he was going to need.

It took about 15 minutes for Alfred to determine that miraculously, the wound had missed anything vital. She also healed at a quicker rate than regular humans, so even as Alfred stitched up her abdomen, he could tell that the limited internal damage to her muscles and blood vessels would heal fairly quickly on their own.

He still gave her one of the blood bags they had in the cave, and attached an IV to her hand. She laid in the cot that they kept in the cave, and Damian sat next to her. His arm around her shoulder, with her head resting on his chest.

It was only about 20 minutes later when Bruce, along with Lois and Clark came into the cave, but both January and Damian had already slipped off into a restful sleep.

"Let them sleep, they've had a long day," Alfred said.

"Is she going to be alright?" Lois asked.

"She will be perfectly fine. I expect it to be a week before she is fully healed," Alfred said.

Bruce nodded, "She can stay here for the time being. Alfred is very well versed in dealing with injuries."

Clark still hadn't spoken, but Lois nodded.

"I think that would be for the best," Lois said. "I don't really have any experience."

Alfred, sensing that Bruce needed to speak to Clark, offered to get Lois some tea upstairs. The two of them left, leaving Clark and Bruce alone with their sleeping kids.

"How could I have done this?" Clark whispered.

"You didn't Clark. Scarecrow did this, the Joker did this, not you."

"No, no, you don't understand, you didn't see her face-" Clark's voice broke. "She didn't think that I was seeing her when I thought I saw Doomsday take my family."

Bruce shook his head and went to the Batcomputer, "Listen to this, Clark."

It was the audio from the comms.

_"Clark, I don't know what you're seeing, but I want you to know, if you can hear me, that whatever is about to happen, it isn't your fault."_

Clark shook his head, "That doesn't change anything. I shouldn't have gone in there without looking, I should have-"

"Clark, stop it," Bruce said more forcefully than he intended. "No one blames you for what happened, not even January."

Clark glanced to Damian, "That's not entirely accurate," he said.

Bruce shook his head. "Damian was just scared. She's... the only person who understands him. He's like this even when she isn't hurt."

Eventually, Clark nodded. "I'm going to take Lois home, but... I'll come back in the morning."

Bruce smiled a bit, "Okay, whatever you want Clark. You're always welcome here."


	3. Chapter 3

Clark took Lois and went home that night. January woke up briefly a few times, each time, Damian was there, urging her back to sleep. When she woke up again at about 5:30 am, she couldn't go back to sleep. She was still in a fair bit of pain, but she wanted to get out of the ripped suit, so Damian went and grabbed a bag of her things that she kept at the Wayne Manor for when she stayed the night.

She got changed into a black T-shirt and red athletic shorts, and she stole Damian's fuzzy housecoat. Damian rewrapped her abdomen in bandages, and when he was done, he stared at her wordlessly.

"What?" January asked.

"I-" Damian stopped and thought for a moment longer about what he wanted to say. "Please refrain from injuring yourself in such a manner again."

January smiled at him, "Yeah, I'll do my best."

"Do you need anything else?"

"I'm a little hungry," January said.

Damian nodded, "I will go get us breakfast. Do not try to walk. Pennyworth says your muscles are not currently stable."

"I won't, don't worry."

Damian came back a few minutes later with a tray of food for the two of them. It had some fruit, a few muffins and a glass of milk.

"Good, you did not try to move, I was concerned you would be overcome by the strange desire to walk around after a serious injury like the imbeciles Grayson, Todd and Drake."

January laughed a little. "You shouldn't be so mean to your brothers, they're not really as bad as you always say."

Damian's eyes looked like they were about to bulge out of his head.

"Incorrect. First of all, they are hardly my siblings. Secondly, it is possible that I have underrepresented their foolishness to you if you believe even for a moment that they are not complete and utter simpletons."

January snorted and laughed harder.

"What is it that amuses you?" Damian asked with a scowl.

"It's just-" she kept cutting herself off with laughter. "Why do you talk like that? You sound like an old man yelling at kids to get off his lawn."

"Well, he would certainly be justified if they are trespassing on private property."

January's cackling continued until she suddenly stopped with a pained gasp.

Damian was right beside her in one instant, "What's wrong?"

January was still smiling a little, "Just tugged a little on the stitches."

Damian rolled his eyes at her, but he pulled up a chair and a table to her bedside, setting out the food. They were eating breakfast together when Clark and Bruce came in. Clark looked awful, it was clear he hadn't slept all night.

January gave the two men a small smile, "Hey Clark, you feeling alright?"

Damian simply gave Clark his death-stare to make it known that he was not welcome.

"I'm... I'm so sorry January, I'm so sorry," he said, moving closer to her bed.

"It's okay, you weren't yourself, it wasn't your fault," January said.

Clark could more easily see her injuries now that she wasn't wearing her suit that had long sleeves and a high neck. On her throat were easily seen handprints. On her arms were small scrapes and bruises. She had some stitches on the right side of her forehead from where he had headbutted her. It made him feel guilty that he didn't carry any physical marks from where she had hit him because she certainly had hit him hard. He could feel it the next day, but his skin didn't bruise.

"I... I know," Clark said with a sigh. But then he looked up at her with a bit of a smile, "You saved Lois' life Jan, thank you."

January smiled a little and looked down at her hands, "Well, you would have done it for me."

Clark smiled a little proudly. "I have to go to work, but I'm going to bring Lois over tonight, and I'll-"

"Clark," January interrupted. "I know that you feel guilty and I know you're worried, but really, I'll be okay staying here. I do it all the time. When I feel better I'll come back. I promise."

Clark looked hesitant, "I... okay, sure Jan, just... get better soon."

"Thanks, I will."

Bruce said a quick goodbye to his friend, Clark even said goodbye to Damian but was met with only silence and more glares.

When Clark left Bruce looked to the two kids. "Damian, you should be getting ready for school."

Damian scowled, "Are you serious? After what happened? I can't get one day off?"

"Well, if you want a day off, you don't get to go on patrol with me tonight," Bruce countered.

Damian glared at Bruce, "Fine." He turned to January, "I'm sorry that you will be deprived of my presence today."

January had to hold in a laugh, "It's okay Damian, really."

"I'm not going in to work today, and Dick's going to come around, so she won't be alone," Bruce said.

This seemed to placate Damian slightly.

As it turned out, Dick was actually very plesant company. He spent most of the day with January, even carrying her up the stairs so she could lay on the couch in the more comfortable living room.

When Damian got home from school he was in a foul mood. It was made much worse when he saw Dick and January laughing at a cheesy movie.

"Hey Damian, how was school?" January asked with a smile.

"It was less than acceptable," Damian said. "And what of the events of your day?"

"It was good, Dick's been great company," January replied.

Damian looked at the older man with a hint of suspicion. "Well, Grayson does have his moments."

...

By the end of the week, January had gotten to know the entire Bat-family quite well. Dick liked the girl's sense of humour, Tim liked talking about more intellectual topics, and the few brief times she had seen Jason, they seemed to have gotten along fairly well. Bruce, of course, liked her. He wouldn't let her stay over so often if he didn't. Honestly, his favourite thing about January staying with them was that her presence seemed to relax Damian. Usually, he was so wound up, so on edge, but with her, he wasn't so mean, so uptight. It was a nice change, even if Bruce didn't love that they slept together every night. By that he means _sleep._

Even though the kid would never admit it, Damian really didn't like doing things alone. So now that January would patrol with him when he wasn't out with Bruce, or even just come over and hang out after school, he was placated.

After eight days of staying at Wayne Manor, January decided she was healed enough and she was going to head home that night. Of course, Damian wasn't pleased. If he had his way, she would just move in with them full-time. She was going to fly back, but Damian convinced her to let him drive her back. It was a Saturday, and Bruce had taught the kid how to drive himself, so he said it was alright.

It was a two-hour drive to Metropolis with the traffic, Damian mostly talked to her about what he had seen while on patrol with Bruce for the past week, and what he was thinking the two of them should do after January is fully recovered.

Damian parked in front of the building and grabbed January's bag from the trunk. She reached to grab it herself, but he slung it over his shoulder.

"What are you doing?" January asked.

"I'm carrying your bag for you."

"Why?"

"You're injured."

"But, I-" Damian's expression made her stop. She shook her head a smiled a little, "Ah, a true gentleman."

They went up to the apartment, January knocked on the door and Lois answered. The woman didn't say anything, she just hugged the girl. "Oh, I'm so glad you're alright."

"Thanks, Lois."

"Oh, hi Damian," Lois said, surprised to see the boy.

"He drove me, I didn't really feel like flying," January said.

Lois watched the boy strangely as he looked into the apartment with a watchful eye, but then the realization dawned on her. He was looking for Clark.

"Clark's not home, he went out to get some dinner, I'll call him and tell him to get some for you-"

"No, that's okay, I'm not really hungry," January said. Damian came into the apartment and dropped her bag on her bed. "Thanks."

"Tt," Damian made the clicking noises with his tongue that he always did when he was annoyed. "I will be in contact."

"Okay, see you later," January said. "Thanks for the ride."

Damian left and January smiled a little at Lois.

"So, how's your week been?" January asked.

"Oh, uh... it's been okay. I've got pretty bad morning sickness, and then obviously Clark hasn't been sleeping well," Lois said. "How are you doing? Is everything healed?"

January smiled a little, "Yeah, my stomach's still a little sore, but all my stitches are out, and all the bruises are gone, so, better."

"That's good, that's really good," Lois glanced to the door that Damian had left through. "Did the two of you get into a fight or something?"

January smiled a little, "No, he's just... been in a bad mood. I think he was hoping Clark would be here. Bruce told him he had to apologize."

"For what?"

January's smile faltered a little. "Uh, he sort of snapped at Clark after the incident."

"Well, he was just worried about his friend. I'm sure they'll see each other some other time." January shrugged. "So we told the school that you had the flu. I expect that you'll be going on Monday."

January grimaced, "Fine."

Clark came home not too long after, he had tried to hug the girl, but she avoided him. It sent a pang of hurt through his chest, but he understood, of course he did. She had just experienced how badly he could hurt her if he tried to.

Over dinner, they discussed what they still had to do before the baby was born, and whether or not they were going to have to move. Then, January excused herself and went up to the roof.

Clark looked to Lois sadly. "I don't know how to fix this."

"Clark..." Lois sighed. "Don't take this the wrong way, but, I think you're remembering your relationship with Jan as a little better than it was."

"I... what?"

"She's always been distant from you, she's never liked touching anyone, she's always struggled to see herself as a part of this family. That hasn't changed Clark, we've always had to work hard to keep her close."

Clark nodded, "Yeah, I know. It's just that she isn't like this when she's in Gotham, I guess I was hoping she could learn to be that comfortable here."

"What do you mean?"

"She laughed at Bruce's jokes, she fell asleep on Damian, she's just... happier there Lois," Clark said.

Lois swallowed, "Well, we know that, that's why we let her stay there all the time."

Clark rubbed his eyes and looked at Lois' stomach, he put a hand over his son. "I'm gonna try harder, to make us a real family."

... meanwhile on the roof ...

January was leaning against the ledge, her phone was pressed against her cheek.

"I don't know what's wrong with me, I can't even look at him," January said.

"He almost killed you, it is perfectly understandable," Damian's voice replied.

"But it's not just that, I feel... disappointed, that I couldn't even defend myself. I mean, what was the point of being raised in a box by Luthor for the sole purpose of destroying him if I could barely even hold him off for 2 minutes."

There was a pause on Damian's end. "I understand the internal conflict you are experiencing. I too was raised to eventually destroy both Gotham and my father. I too have abandoned the purpose behind my birth."

"I didn't know that."

"It is... not something I am often comfortable sharing."

January paused, "We don't have to talk about it if-"

"No, we can. You are... the only person I believe I would want to discuss it with."

"Thanks, Damian."

"It's difficult to explain, how it feels. I once attempted to talk to Grayson, but to no avail. The urge to hurt my father is always in the back of my mind, and every time he turns his back to me, or when I am angry, I feel it."

"I know. Me too. And now I know that even if I still wanted to... do that, I couldn't. I just, I wish that I had never been born you know? They t-" She stopped to take a breath. "They tortured me in there, and it was all for nothing."

Damian was silent for a moment, "I know it might seem selfish for me to say this, but I'm glad you're here, January. I'm very glad that you exist."

January was blinking back tears, "I'm glad you exist too."

Neither of them knew exactly what to say after that, but after a few moments of silence, Damian spoke.

"Would you like to come over?"

"Now?"

"... yes."

"I'm on my way."

They hung up and January went back down to the apartment, ignoring the questioning glances from Clark and Lois. She grabbed her backpack and threw some of her clothes in there.

"Where are you going?" Clark asked.

"I'm gonna spend the night at Damian's," January answered. The look in her eye said not to challenge her.

Lois looked sad, and she didn't see January's face. "But Jan, you just got back."

"I know, I'm-" Her breath caught in her throat. "I'm sorry, I just can't be here right now." And with that, she was gone.

Clark went and stood by the window. He watched her fly across the bay and into Gotham where it was raining. He saw her knock on the door to Wayne manor. He saw her greet Alfred, and then he saw Damian come down the stairs and grab her bag, leading her upstairs

"Is she alright?" Lois asked.

Clark nodded his head minutely. "She's okay."

Lois wrapped her arms around Clark from behind. "She'll be alright, she's strong."


	4. Chapter 4

January went back to the apartment in the afternoon on Wednesday after avoiding Clark and Lois for a few days.

She knocked on the door with a sheepish smile and reluctantly accepted Lois' hug. The woman gently ran a hand over the intricate braids in her hair. "Did you do these?" Lois asked with confusion.

"No, Damian's brother Dick did," January said with a small smile at the memory.

"Huh, I should get him to do _my_ hair," Lois said with a small laugh and a smile.

January looked at Lois and took a deep breath. "Listen, I uh... I got-"

"Expelled from your school? Yep, I got a phone call," Lois said. January avoided her gaze, feeling guilty. "He told me what happened, and... well, I'd like to hear it from you."

January frowned, keeping her head down. "We were writing another test when the emergency contacting device that Damian and I have started to blink. So I finished the test quickly, sort of forgetting to mark any answers down as wrong and asked him if I could leave because I wasn't feeling well. He wouldn't let me, and then he- grabbed me and I shoved him off, but I was a little too strong and he fell. I would've stayed behind to apologize, but- it was an emergency."

Lois shook her head, "January, you can't just leave school like that. You should have texted me or Clark and we could have called the school, but-"

"No, you don't get it. Damian would have died if I hadn't shown up when I did. There wasn't time, it was important-"

"You know what else is important? Making sure your secret identity stays _secret_."

"So his life is worth so much less than mine, that I shouldn't even try to go and save him if I-"

"That's not what she's saying January," Clark said. He came into the apartment carrying a few bags of groceries and tried to ignore how much she visibly flinched when he came in. "You need to be more careful."

"So you two aren't even upset at that assh-"

"Language."

"Of a teacher that has basically made it his personal mission to get me kicked out of the school!"

"Of course we're upset about that, but-"

"So then why are you standing here berating me?"

"Because you need to be able to be better than people who goad you!"

"I am better than him! Or maybe he didn't realize because he was on the floor!"

"Violence isn't the answer!"

"He started it!"

"But you retaliated!"

"It wouldn't be retaliation if anyone else had done it!"

"But you're not everyone else! You're Kryptonian!"

"No! I'm not! I'm human!"

"No, January. You're stronger and you have to be careful that you-"

"I'm only stronger because I was raised in a cage to kill you, and I can't even do that!" Clark and Lois froze. "I'm not your daughter, I'm not just some kid. I'm a science experiment, I'm a weapon, and I'm stronger than most. And I never thought there was anything wrong with that until the two of you started telling me I needed to blend in!"

"Jan... sweetie, but to us, you are our kid, we just want-" Lois was cut off.

"I shouldn't be. How do you even know that that's how we're related?! I could be your sister or your cousin, I could be as distantly related to you as someone on the opposite side of the planet is to Lois, but you think that gives you the right to control my life?!"

"Yes, it does! Because we took you in and we cared for you! We love you, Jan! We just want what's best!" Clark started again.

"Don't lie to me! You only took me in because you're afraid of being alone! And you only want me to stay here because you're afraid that I'm going to disappear like everyone else! But now that the two of you have your perfect family, you don't need me!"

"What? No, Jan, we care about you, really, we do."

"No, you don't! If you cared you wouldn't send me to that stupid school, and you wouldn't have forced me to hide my powers for years before I met Damian!"

"We were just trying to-"

"Keep me safe?! That's all Luthor was ever trying to do too! I would beg him to let me out, but he always said it wasn't _safe_! He was just using me for my powers, and the two of you are using me to play house! But you don't need to anymore! So just let me go, I don't want to be here!"

January turned and ran up towards the roof where she was about to take off for Gotham, when a strong grip pulled her back down.

"January, please, stay. This got out of hand, let us explain-"

"No, no, I'm done, I tried Clark, I really tried to be good, to make this work, but I can't. You don't understand."

"Then please, help me understand."

"I can't, because you don't know what it's like to live your whole life knowing that no one loves you." Clark's grip on her loosened and she shot off into the sky and towards Gotham.

... Two Days Earlier ...

Damian was in a bit of a tight spot. There were these drug dealers that were starting to get wise to the fact that Batman only worked at night, so Robin decided to sneak off from school and deal with them in the day-time. He hadn't thought he was over his head until the moment he was surrounded by guns pointed in his face. He discretely tapped the emergency signal that he shared with January and then he just tried to keep them talking. About fifteen minutes later, she came.

She crashed through the skylight and took out three men all at once with a single swipe of her bo staff. She fairly easily managed to fend off the rest of them, until someone figured out why she came. A knife was being pressed to Damian's throat.

"Stop! Or I cut your little boy-toys throat!" The man yelled.

January froze, and turned to look at the man. "Just... stop, you can point your gun at me, just put down the knife." She walked closer to the man, who still had a knife on Damian, but now also had his finger on the trigger of a gun pointed at January. "Here, just, point it here," January grabbed the gun and guided the man's hand so it was against the side of January's head. "Now let Robin go, and you can shoot me."

The man dropped the knife and pulled the trigger, January stumbled back a few steps before flying forward and pinning the man to the wall with her forearm. He was shocked and horrified and he tried to garble pleas and apologizes. She punched him in the face, knocking him out, before turning back to Damian. Her head was throbbing and her vision was a little fuzzy, but she untied him.

He grabbed her arms to balance her, "Are you alright?"

January nodded a bit, "I think I have a concussion, but I'm alright."

"I'm glad to hear it," Batman's voice growled from behind them. "What were you two thinking?!"

"It was my fault father. I didn't tell her I was coming here, I just signalled her when things went too far," Damian said.

Bruce looked at the two of them with his arms crossed. He wasn't sure what he wanted to do first. Drag them back to the Batcave? Thank January for saving Damian (again)? Yell at Damian for being an idiot? Question why his son didn't call _him_?

When January stumbled, and Damian barely caught her in time, Bruce decided questioning could wait. He took them back to the Batcave.

When they were both sitting down, he started to pace in front of them.

"I hope the two of you already know how incredibly stupid that was. Damian, going into a place like that alone, without telling anyone where you were going? January, taking a bullet point-blank to your head?" Bruce paced some more and then stopped. "I'm just glad the two of you are okay. Now, January, go and get Alfred to check you out, make sure the concussion isn't too severe. Damian, stay here."

January sent a small smile to Damian as she headed upstairs.

She found Alfred in the kitchen making pastry dough. "Hey Alfred, Bruce told me to come up here and get you to check out my head."

Alfred brushed off his hands on his apron, "Of course, Miss January. Might I enquire as to what happened?"

January smiled sheepishly, "I uh... got shot in the head... point-blank."

Alfred blinked back his surprise, "Oh, I see well then." He carefully brushed aside her hair. There was a large bruise, but not much else. Alfred looked into her eyes. "Well, I would say you have a mild concussion, but considering the cause, I would say you are quite lucky."

January smiled, "Thanks, Alfred." She turned to see Damian standing in the doorway, he motioned for her to follow.

They went outside and walked in the beautiful gardens outside the manor. "Thank you, for helping me."

January smiled at him, "That's what friends are for, right?"

Damian suddenly stopped and turned to her, "Stay here."

"What?" January asked, furrowing her eyebrows.

"Don't go back to Metropolis, stay here. My father says he can get you into Gotham Academy if you want, and there's lots of room in the manor."

"I... I can't Damian," January said slightly sadly. "I feel like I owe it to Clark and Lois to give it one more try."

"Well, the offer will always be there," Damian said. He was disappointed, but he understood.

"Thanks, Damian," January gripped his arm as they walked around.

From the manor window, Dick watched.

"So... Damian and January? Are they like... a thing?" He asked Bruce.

"I assume it's only a matter of time Dick, he's not like that with anyone else," Bruce said.

"Yeah, but what about her?"

Bruce smiled to himself, "She's a good kid. Damian asked me if she could stay with us permanently today."

"What did you say?"

"Only if she wanted to."

Dick turned to face Bruce with surprise clearly written on his face. "But doesn't she live with Clark?"

Bruce nodded slightly. "She does, but she spends most of her time here. She and Clark have their differences."

Dick looked back at Damian and January, "They're cute, but... Damian is more fragile than he lets on."

"She took a bullet to the head for him today, she knows. She protects him. I feel better when she's around."

"I meant more emotionally."

"I know. Damian doesn't sleep very well, you know that?" Bruce asked.

"Yeah of course, the last time I stayed here it must have been nearly every night that he woke up screaming."

"He doesn't do that when she's here."

Dick blinked. "Really?"

"Yes."

"Huh, well, ain't that dandy?"

Bruce rolled his eyes at his eldest. "Are you staying for dinner?"

"No, I gotta head back to Bludhaven, thanks though. If you see Jason, can you tell him I was hoping to see him?"

"Sure thing, Dick."

Bruce went to stand by the window as Dick left and he watched the kids. They were better together than they were alone.

... Present ...

January landed on the doorstep of Wayne Manor and knocked on the door. Alfred answered and Bruce was behind him.

"I'm sorry for just showing up like this, but... I-" January's voice jumped. "I can't go back to Metropolis."

Bruce walked up to the girl and put a hand on her shoulder. "You're always welcome here, January. Always." He led her out of the entryway of the house. "Damian's out with Tim, but I'm sure he'll be glad to see you here."

January blinked back tears, "Thanks B."

"You wanna come down to the Cave? I got something for you."

January followed Bruce down. "I had this made, you don't really need all the excess protective material that you have on the one Damian made for you, so you should be able to move better. And I also upgraded your staff using the same materials as Nightwing's."

January felt the material of the suit, and grabbed the metal bo staff, "But, I could kill someone with this."

Bruce looked at the girl and smiled, "You've gotten so much better at controlling your strength, I trust you."

"Thank you so much, for everything," January said. She was absolutely beaming, all the emotional pain that had been plaguing her just a few minutes earlier was gone.

"Alfred will get you your own room ready for tomorrow, but for tonight you can stay with Damian. I also made you a verified user on the Batcomputer and added you to the security system in the manor. This is your home now too."

He was not expecting to be hugged, but he hugged the girl back. He was just glad that she was happy here. Damian needed his friend, and honestly, everyone else needed her too. She was the only person that kept Damian sane and reasonable, so she was welcome for as long as she wanted to stay.


	5. Chapter 5

January had pretty much fit right in at Wayne Manor. Did she fight crime in a costume? Check. Did she have a tragic upbringing? Check. She was doing good at school too. Bruce had gotten her enrolled at Gotham Academy in all the same classes as Damian. She was the talk of the school, pretty, smart, and best friends with the elusive and brash Damian Wayne.

It was actually at a social gathering that Bruce was attending that a few of the mothers of other students at the school approached him about the girl.

"Mr. Wayne? I'm Lindsey Johnson, my son goes to Gotham Academy, and he's been telling me the strangest thing about a girl named January. Have you adopted another child?"

Bruce chuckled, "No, she's the daughter of a good friend of mine, but since he's been out of town and she is Damian's good friend, I've taken her in as my ward."

"Ah, so they aren't... involved?"

Bruce almost choked on his champagne, "No, no they aren't. Just kids that are friends."

That was far from the last inquiry about January and Damian that night. When Bruce got home he mentioned it in passing to Damian and January.

"I told you this would happen," Damian said with a straight face.

January was badly hiding a grin, "Still worth it."

Bruce narrowed his eyes, "What happened?"

"Nothing." "January psychologically traumatized a boy in our class for ridiculing our family."

January turned to Damian and shook her head, "Traitor." He shrugged.

"You... traumatized someone?" Bruce questioned.

"Well, I didn't know he was going to have such a strong reaction," January said nonchalantly. Damian smirked and looked down at the floor.

"You called him a coward who couldn't confront his own issues with his unfaithful father," Damian said.

"It was the truth! And come on, you didn't exactly just watch either. At least I didn't punch him."

Bruce raised an eyebrow, "You punched a classmate and I didn't hear anything from the school?"

"It was pretty clear that Damian wasn't the one who started it."

"Okay... I'll ask again. What happened?"

...

Damian and January were sitting at their regular table in the front-left of the cafeteria which Damian had said was the best spot if they were somehow attacked in the cafeteria.

Damian was already sitting down when January walked in. He was not oblivious to the way she turned the heads of many of the other students, it always gave him this... feeling. He didn't know what it was called.

She had just sat down across from him when a kid who neither of them really knew came up to them.

"So, new kid, huh? I hear you're staying with the Wayne's."

"That's right," January said hesitantly, disliking his tone.

"Well, that's a shame, you should have stayed with someone more respectable, like my family."

"And why is that?" January asked. She glanced to Damian, who was gripping the table with white knuckles.

"Well, I don't have any gypsies, street trash or psychopaths that live with _me_."

Damian had heard enough and stood abruptly. The other boy saw that as an invitation to attempt to punch Damian, however, he blocked it easily and returned with one of his own. The kid staggered back, and Damian was ready to throw another one when January grabbed his wrist.

"Let me handle it?" She asked quietly. Damian's posture softened and January walked right up to the boy. "You know, I guess that if I had a father that was so unfaithful and kept bringing in his bastard sons into my house I'd feel like I had to lash out at other people's families too. But the thing is, I'm not a coward like you, and I don't project my daddy issues onto other people to make myself feel better." She stepped closer towards him and whispered in his ear. "You insult my friends again and I'll break your nose."

January pressed Damian's shoulders, sitting him back down before she resumed her seat across him. She looked at the boy expectantly, but he was just staring at her with a mixture of fear and shock.

"I-I don't- you don't know anything!" He stormed off.

Damian quirked one side of his mouth upwards, "Excellent work."

...

Bruce rolled his eyes, "I knew letting Tim tell you about all that gossip was going to blow up in my face."

January shrugged, "He deserved it."

"Are the two of you going out on patrol tonight?" Bruce asked.

"Yes," Damian answered.

"Alright, well, be safe. I'll be out too so radio me if-"

"Yes, father. We know," Damian interrupted.

"Will do B," January said with a smile.

Bruce watched them head off to the Batcave with a soft smile. The girl seemed harmless when she was out of costume, but everyone knew that she had a sharp tongue when she wanted to.

... Later that night ...

Damian and January were wrapping up for the night, January was tired, so she rode on the back of Damian's motorbike. He didn't exactly know why, but he preferred it when she rode with him. It felt... nice when she wrapped her arms around his chest and rested her head on his shoulder, but he still didn't understand why. Perhaps he would have to ask Grayson about it.

He was snapped out of his thoughts by gunfire erupting around them.

"You still have batarangs in your belt?" January asked.

"Of course."

"Okay, just drive straight, I'll handle them." She quickly ducked under Damian's arm so they were chest to chest with her legs wrapped around his stomach. She slid her hand down his chest and found the right pocket. She pulled out two and hit both front tires of the vehicle that the gunmen were driving. They crashed off to the side of the road.

"Should we stop?" January asked.

"No, let the police handle this, I'm tired," Damian replied.

January carefully slid back to her original position, much to Damian's disappointment, which confused him. Why was he feeling... things, emotions that he couldn't name, for January? Was this simply what friendship felt like? It was now clear that he would have to consult the person he knew that was the most experienced in emotions, Grayson.

They came back to the Batcave to find Nightwing and Batman were discussing something they'd found while patrolling their sections of the city.

"Hey Dami! Hey January!" Dick greeted cheerfully.

"What's up, Dick?" January asked.

"Ah, you know, the usual. TwoFace robbing banks again," Dick said. "Mind if I stay the night B?"

"Of course, Dick, it's your home," Bruce answered. "All of us should get some rest."

January smiled at Damian, "Night."

"Goodnight, January."

Bruce and January politely chatted as they left the Batcave while Dick waited back with Damian.

"What's up little D?"

"You know I hate all these nicknames, yet you continue to use them."

"Lighten up baby bird," Dick said, ruffling Damian's hair. "Was there something you wanted to talk about?"

"Yes, actually, I will meet you in your room in fifteen minutes."

"Okay kid, see you there."

They both changed out of their suits and into sleeping clothes and then reconvened in Dick's room.

"You seem to have a working knowledge of what certain feelings would be classified in emotional categories, am I correct?" Damian asked.

Dick furrowed his eyebrows, "What?"

"If I describe to you, how something feels, can you tell me what it is?" Damian growled as if Dick was a simpleton.

"Oh uh... yeah?"

"Well, you see, I... get this sort of sick feeling in my stomach when I see other people looking at January. Other boys, men, whatever. And tonight, when we were riding on my bike, it felt really nice when she was next to me," Damian admitted quietly. He glanced up to Dick to see if the older man thought he was a fool, but Dick was simply grinning from ear to ear.

"Yeah, Damian, I know what both of those things are called."

"Tt. Well?"

"The first one, that's called jealousy D. And the second one is called a crush."

Damian blinked, "I... oh."

Dick frowned at the kid, did he break him?

"It's perfectly normal to like a pretty girl Dami," Dick said.

"I know!" Damian snapped. He took a breath, "I suppose I simply do not know what to do with this information."

"Well, little D, I sort of think you should tell her how you feel," Dick advised. "You know, tell her that you like her."

"I can't."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, _I can't_. What if she rejects me and wants to leave. She is my friend, firstly, and I would not have her move back to Metropolis."

Dick smiled, "Alright, well, then you can wait I guess. Sometimes these things are just hormones, it might go away."

"Hmm... that would be ideal."

Dick shook his head and laughed softly, "Okay kid, now that that's sorted, get outta my room. I need my beauty sleep."

...

It did not go away. Damian had given it several months, hoping this 'crush' would go away, but it didn't, and his jealousy was getting worse.

"Grayson. You must tell me how to end this 'crush' as you call it."

Dick looked at him with confusion, "Uh... what?" He then looked to the corner of the room where Bruce was sitting.

Damian followed Dick's gaze to Bruce, who he hadn't realized was in the room, and then to the computer monitor which was concealing Tim's form.

"Oh, father, Drake, I was not aware you were in the middle of something, I will speak with you later Grayson."

"No, no, no, we can help too Damian," Tim said.

"How could you help when you have no grasp of the situation."

"It's about your crush on January," all three men said simultaneously.

"What?!" Damian snapped toward Dick, "Why did you tell them?"

"I didn't Damian, it's just obvious," Dick said.

"Tt. Well, I suppose the extra help would be appreciated."

Meanwhile...

January and Jason were sitting on the edge of a rooftop eating chilidogs talking.

"So, I mean, obviously I like him, he's super sweet and we work together so well. But if I bring it up is he gonna get all confused? Cause you know how he doesn't get emotional stuff sometimes," January said.

"Sorry, we're still talking about Damian 'demon brat' Wayne?" Jason questioned.

January whacked his shoulder, "Come on, he's not that bad."

"Yeah, when you're with him maybe," Jason grumbled. "You're better than he deserves, you know. He'd be the luckiest 14-year-old I know."

January blushed and shook her head, "No, I'd be the lucky one."

Jason looked at her like she was crazy, "You're kidding right? You are literally the perfect girl. You're smart, you're nice, you're strong, you fight crime, you're pretty, you got everything kid."

"You forgot the part where I'm one mental breakdown from killing the entire Justice League."

Jason waved that idea away, "Kid, you know how many times I've tried to kill Bruce? How many times I've tried to kill Tim? Damian? Dick? No one cares about that, not in this family."

"Then why don't you live in the mansion anymore? Cause you're right, they don't care."

Jason blinked, "Well... shit kid, you got me there." Jason shook his head, "Anyway, my point is, I don't think you can name anything 'bad' about yourself that Damian hasn't already seen and moved past."

"But that's not the point, I know he doesn't think there's anything wrong with me, he would say something if he thought there was. He does that to everyone. But it's just that he's never seemed even remotely interested in anything romantic, with me or anyone else. Like... what if he's asexual? or aromantic? or gay? I don't know."

At the Manor...

"... and she's never seemed interested in any sort of romantic activities with anyone. What if she's simply not interested in those pursuits?"

Dick's memory suddenly flashed back to when they had watched the Valentine's day rom-com marathon. "That's not true Damian. She loves romance, she watches those cheesy movies with me all the time."

"Yeah, and in the Bat Bookclub, she said that Clockwork Prince was her favourite book. It's basically 99% romance," Tim added.

"Bat Bookclub?" Bruce questioned.

"Yeah, me and Steph and Babs and Cass and Jason and January, we have a book club."

"Can I join?" Bruce asked.

"Sure, I'll add you to the email list," Tim said.

"Tt. I thought we were helping _me_."

"Right, well, Damian, you're never going to resolve this until you tell her how you feel," Bruce said.

"Haven't you been listening? What if she doesn't want to be my partner after that?" Damian said.

"Damian, I can't guarantee that she's going to say she likes you back, but I can say with near certainty is that she's not going to stop being your friend," Bruce said.

Dick looked around, "Hey, where is January anyway?"

"She out with _Todd_," Damian spat. "That is why I came to ask what to do about this."

"Because you're jealous of Jason?" Tim asked incredulously.

"I was trying to train and then all I could think about was what they were doing or if he was making _advances_ on her."

"Why would Jason be trying to get with January?" Dick questioned.

"I don't know, but he keeps inviting her on his missions," Damian said.

On the rooftop of Jason's apartment...

"And I don't know, I kind of get a bit jealous when girls at school throw themselves at him. He rejects them every time, but still."

"Kid, I really don't get it. You honestly think that Damian is going to throw you out of his life because you say that you like him?"

"No, I guess not. Call me old fashioned though, but I was kind of hoping he would make the first move, you know?"

"Yeah, I know kid. Want a ride back to the Manor?"

"That would be nice, thanks," January said.

At the Manor...

Damian, Tim, Dick and Bruce had come up with an extremely complicated chart listing out every possible outcome of Damian telling January that he liked her when they heard the familiar sound of a motorcycle engine.

Dick glanced out of the window, "Jason and January are back."

The group moved downstairs to greet the pair.

"So, how'd it go?" Dick asked with an easy smile.

"Great, thanks for letting me borrow your girlfriend D, she's lots of fun," Jason said teasingly. January shot him a glare while Damian's already-present glare intensified.

"Jason, it's a long drive back to your apartment from here, why don't you stay the night?" Bruce said.

Jason visibly tensed, but before he could decline January spoke. "Oh, that's a great idea! And weren't you just saying that you missed your good mattress?"

Jason glared at the girl, "What?" He whisper-growled.

"Payback," January whispered back with a smirk.

"Great, I'll tell Alfred to get your room ready," Bruce said with a genuine smile. He went inside.

"Wanna train for a bit?" January asked Damian.

"Fine."

The two of them went inside, leaving Tim, Jason and Dick outside.

"So you'll never guess what super-girl there told me," Jason said. "She has a huge crush on demon-spawn."

Tim and Dick looked at each other in shock. "We just spent the last hour making a chart of pros and cons of asking her on a date for Damian. He was jealous of _you,_" Tim said.

Dick grinned, "Oh my god, I _knew_ she liked him!"

Jason looked at his two 'brothers'. "Well, are the two of you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Definitely," Tim said.

"We're going to make this happen," Jason said with determination.

"It won't be easy, it might be the toughest mission I've ever done," Dick said.

"We can do it, I believe in us," Tim said.

"Where do we start?" Jason asked.


	6. Chapter 6

Jason, Dick, and Tim had decided that what they needed to do was make Damian jealous enough to actually say something to January about how he felt. Their first plan took place during a Wayne fundraiser. Steph and Babs had gone with January to get a dress, Dick told them to make sure she got something red. It was Damian's favourite colour.

Jason, Dick and Tim all had comms in their ears that evening.

"Okay, Bruce and Damian just got here," Dick spoke.

"Copy that, Tim and January are en route," Jason replied.

Tim pulled up in his sleek car and led January inside. "Coming up the entrance," Tim said quietly so January couldn't hear into the comms.

"Damian's in position," Jason replied.

"Okay, here we go, step: Damian gets blown away is in motion," Dick said.

The three brothers watched Damian's face carefully. He glanced to her and... that was it. His expression nor his body language changed.

"Is he in shock? Why isn't he reacting?" Dick questioned.

"Hey Damian," January said, coming up beside him.

"Hello," Damian replied stiffly.

She looked at him with a little frown, "You alright? You seem really uncomfortable."

"I simply dislike these types of gatherings," Damian said.

"Well, it can't be all bad, right? What do you do at these things anyway?"

"He usually sulks in a corner and insults anyone who tries to talk with him," Bruce answered from behind them.

January turned around and laughed, "Yeah, I can see that happening."

Bruce's lips quirked upward as he looked at Damian, who was glaring at him. "Well, I came to tell the two of you that you only have to stay until 9, then you can leave and go out on patrol."

January looked back to Damian with a smile, "Better?"

Damian smiled slightly at January, "Yes, better."

"In the meantime, why don't the two of you go dance?" Bruce suggested.

"Dick, can you hear what's going on over there?" Tim asked over the comms.

"No, I can't read their lips," Dick replied.

"They're moving!" Jason whisper yelled.

There was a pause over the comms as they all registered what was going on. "They're dancing?" Tim asked in shock.

Damian moved gracefully, January less so. But they looked like an adorable couple. "Okay, is this... a win?" Jason asked.

No one was certain.

...

Their second plan took place on January's birthday. She did not particularly enjoy celebrating the day, January 1st, but allowed Dick to plan a little party at the manor. Alfred made a small cake for the Batfamily, and everyone got January a small gift.

She opened the one from Tim first, it was a collection of all of her favourite books from their book club.

"Thanks, Tim," January said.

"Mine next!" Dick exclaimed.

January opened the gift from Dick and saw that he gave her a hand made toque, gloves and a scarf. He had recently taken up knitting as a hobby, don't ask.

"Aw, thanks Dick, they're so soft!"

She opened Jason's next and started laughing wildly when she saw what was in the box. Jason had gotten her a Toronto Blue Jay's hoodie.

Bruce sent Jason _a look_ to which he replied, "What? It's hilarious!"

"Thanks, I love it."

Bruce handed her a long box next, it was an improved version of the upgraded staff January used.

"It's a bit lighter, won't get so much power in the swing," Bruce said. The girl easily fell within the family's philosophy on killing. She also always felt bad if she handed someone a particularly bad beatdown, so Bruce figured she'd appreciate this.

"Thanks, B," January said.

Finally, Damian handed her a small package. She opened it and then glanced at Damian with a huge grin on her face.

"Really? You're gonna teach me?" She asked excitedly.

"Yes, I have decided I will," Damian said. He was trying not to show how much seeing her look at him like that affected him.

"Thanks, Damian, that means a lot to me."

Dick, Jason and Tim all stared at Damian, each hoping he would say the line: 'you mean a lot to me.'

Instead, Damian replied, "We're partners, we must be able to communicate effectively."

January looked around at all of them, "Thanks you guys, this was really nice."

Alfred walked into the room, "Actually, there is one more gift from Mr. Fox. It is waiting for you in the Batcave."

January stood up and put Damian's gift on the table, where the rest of the family could see what it was. They were all shocked to see that it was an English to Arabic dictionary.

They had always asked Damian if the boy wanted any of them to learn Arabic, especially Bruce, since he knew like 30 languages already, and he had always said no. Damian barely spoke it around any of them anyway, but apparently, he spoke it enough around January for the girl to want to learn it herself.

The group made their way down to the Batcave where there was a briefcase with a note on one of the tables. The note read: _You're getting too tall for the old suit, ~Fox_.

She opened the briefcase with a smile and saw a new and slightly redesigned suit.

"Wow, remind me to thank Lucious the next time I see him," January said quietly.

"Well, why don't you kids take it for a spin? It's almost time for patrols anyway," Bruce said. "Dick, Nightwing can take my section tonight, Batman needs a break."

Since the somewhat reuniting of the Batfamily, they had split up the city into sections that they were each responsible for. Nightwing still worked out of Bludhaven, so he didn't have a section. Red Hood was allowed to keep his area of crime alley as long as he continued to use non-lethal methods, which he had been. Red Robin got most of downtown, and he was always on call if anyone else needed help. The Birds of Prey mostly stuck to the area around the clocktower, but they roamed as they pleased. Batman took the heavier areas, the places where the supervillains were more likely to pop up. Robin and Bluejay handled the area around the north and east docks along with Mercy Bridge.

They all went to change into their suits, and then it happened. The moment that Dick, Jason and Tim had thought was going to happen at the gala. January walked out in her new suit, and Damian's mouth opened slightly as he rolled his shoulders back. He quickly turned away so that she couldn't see his face. It fit her very well, it was somehow more flattering than the upgraded suit that Bruce had gotten her a few months back.

Dick elbowed Jason, "Quick, do something to make him jealous."

Jason whistled, "Wow, Damian, your girlfriend looks hot."

Bruce whipped around and stared at Jason with a confused expression, and he looked even more confused when he saw Dick and Tim silently high fiving in the background as January blushed deeply and Damian glared at Todd.

Jason's words were the truth though. Without the extra kevlar padding that January didn't need and the short overskirt, the new suit was skin-tight except for the navy cape in the back and some padding on her shins and forearms. She was fifteen now, and she figured she was probably pretty close to being done growing.

"Come on January, Gotham needs us," Damian said seriously. God, the kid really was just like Bruce. They went to Damian's bike as January put her new bo staff in the slot on her back. She got on the back of the bike and wrapped her arms around Damian as they took off.

Bruce then turned to his other boys, "What are the three of you doing?" He questioned.

"Nothing."

"What?"

"Setting up Damian and January," Dick said. Jason and Tim rounded on their oldest brother who raised his hands. "What? He knows!"

"Has it occurred to you that perhaps they wouldn't appreciate your interference?" Bruce asked.

"Come on B! What about the romance?!" Dick exclaimed.

"They're children, Dick," Bruce reminded.

Jason scoffed, "Uh, huh, one of them is a baby assassin and the other is a genetically modified human, made to kill a lot of people. They aren't exactly what I'd consider 'normal' B."

"I know, Jason. That's why the three of you are going to stop messing with them, and let them be normal friends."

"But they like each other!" Tim exclaimed.

"Then _they_ have to figure that out. Not the three of you," Bruce said.

"Your father's right boys," Selina spoke as she came down the stairs.

Jason and Tim shared a look. "Oh," Jason started. "So this is why you're not going out on patrol?"

"Sorry, boys, but we've got a wedding to plan and there are more than enough bat-themed vigilantes to keep the city safe for a night."

Dick nodded, "Alright, well... the two of you have a good night then... we'll just go."

Everyone went their separate ways and Selina pecked Bruce's cheek as he looked at the Batcomputer nervously.

"Come upstairs, they'll be alright. You trained them, after all," she said softly.

Bruce smiled at her as he picked her up in his arms, she laughed and wrapped her arms around his neck. "I love you, Selina," Bruce whispered.

"I love you too," Selina replied, resting her head against his chest.

...

A few months later, Robin and Bluejay were patrolling as usual. Stopping drug deals, muggings, nothing out of the normal. Near the end of the night, there was a group of six men about to pick up a drug shipment from the docks.

They weren't really having any trouble with it, until one of the last men decided to literally take a stab at January. Damian intervened and got a pretty deep cut on his upper bicep.

January promptly knocked out the man and turned to Damian.

"Are you okay? Why'd you do that?" She questioned as she got a better look at his heavily bleeding arm.

"He was going to stab _you_," Damian said through gritted teeth.

January glared at him, "Come on, let's get back."

She wrapped her arm around him and lifted them off the ground. They quickly came back to the cave to find no one there.

"I'll go get Alfred," January said, but before she could go, Damian grabbed her wrist.

"Can you just do the stitches?" Damian asked.

"They won't be as good as Alfred's," January said.

"That's okay," Damian said.

January grabbed the stitches kit while Damian took off the top of his suit.

She was about halfway done when Damian had enough of the strange silence.

"Why are you mad at me?" He asked.

"Because you shouldn't have gotten in the way of that knife," January said.

"He would have stabbed you."

"I know, it was my mistake, I should have gotten injured."

"So you just didn't want me to do anything, and watch when I could have stopped it?"

"Yes. I heal faster than you do, and I have to be more aware of my surroundings."

"You would have been hurt far more severely than I am now. I was not willing to-"

"Lose your crime-fighting partner, because-"

"Habibata," Damian started in Arabic. "'ana 'ahtum bik kathirana." (My love, I care about you very much.)

January stared at him and finished the stitches, Damian held his breath. He didn't know if she understood what he had said, he had only started to teach her Arabic a few months ago. And then even if she did understand... what was she going to think of that?

When she finished she sat on the edge of the upright medical chair and looked at him, "'ana 'aydaan." (Me too.) She leaned down and kissed his cheek. "Don't ever do that again. Goodnight."

She left the shocked boy on the chair and went upstairs. She walked passed Bruce and Selina, who had been staying at the manor more often these days leading up to the wedding. Thye looked at her questioningly.

"Just had to give Damian a few stitches, but he's fine," January said.

Bruce was going to stand, but Selina pushed him back down, "The kids are fine, Bruce. Goodnight, January."

"Night Selina, night B." January walked upstairs.

About 20 minutes later, Damian came upstairs.

"Damian, are you alright? Bruce asked.

Damian hummed and went upstairs.

Bruce and Selina looked at the boy curiously.

...

The next day was a little awkward, Alfred kept glancing back at the kids. Usually, they were not this silent.

"I fear that the two of you will have to walk home," Alfred said as he pulled up in front of the school.

"That's okay, thanks Alfred," January said with a smile.

"Farewell Pennyworth," Damian said quietly.

They went through their day as usual, except the usual discussion about cases or their classes was replaced with silence. Neither of them really knew what to say.

They walked home side by side, it had started to rain, yet neither picked up the pace. It was only when they were just about back to the manor that either of them spoke again.

"Damian..." January started with a sigh. "Did you mean it? What you said?"

He didn't immediately respond. He had, he really had, but he didn't want her to be scared off if she didn't reciprocate.

"I did, but if you... are not of similar feelings, I-"

"Why would you think that?" January asked.

They were walking up the driveway now and January stopped. They were already completely soaked, waiting a little longer to get inside wouldn't change anything.

Damian tilted his head down to look at her. "I don't know, it is a fear of mine, that you would no longer wish to be my partner."

"Well, I do feel the same. And I still want to be your partner."

Damian took a moment to process this feeling, it was nice. "What will this new relationship include?"

January smiled and blushed a little. She liked Damian's need to define things, it made a lot of things easier, but in this particular moment, it was a little awkward.

"Well, I... I don't know. What would you like it to include?"

"I... would prefer it if we agreed to not become... involved with others."

"Agreed," January said. "I'd... I'd like to hold your hand in public if that's okay?" She asked tentatively.

"It is," Damian said. He grabbed her hand in his and she smiled. "In private, I'd like to be able to kiss you."

"I'd like that too," January said. "I don't like the term boyfriend and girlfriend."

"Neither do I. What about... partner?" Damian asked.

January smiled up at him and he felt his heart pound. "That would be nice. I'd like to go on a... a date every once in a while. Just me and you, no suits, somewhere in the city."

"I can certainly accommodate that," Damian said. "Do you wish to tell people about this?"

"If it comes up, but I don't think we should go out of the way," January replied. "Can you think of anything else?"

"No. Can you?" Damian asked. January shook her head. "Can I..." He trailed off, but his thumb caressing her hand and his eyes locked on her lips told January his intentions clearly.

"Umhm," January hummed. She brought her hand up to the back of his neck and the other to his shoulder.

When they parted, Damian whispered in Arabic, "_My love._"

"_My partner,_" January whispered back.


	7. Chapter 7

Lois had given birth to Jon Kent eight months ago, and they hadn't seen January since, not until today.

There was a knock on the door, and when Lois opened it, she was absolutely shocked to see January standing there, not in any uniform or super-suit, just as herself.

"Jan? Oh my God, it's been so long. You've gotten taller," Lois said with a wide smile.

"Yeah, long time no see," she paused awkwardly. "Uh, is Clark here, I need to talk to him about something."

"Of course, come in, I'll grab him," Lois said.

January walked into the apartment and smiled as she saw Jon sitting on the rug in the living room. She crouched down in front of the kid.

"Hi Jon, I've heard a lot about you," January said softly. The tiny boy looked up at her and smiled. "You're adorable."

"January?" Clark's confused voice asked from behind her.

She stood and faced him, "Hey Clark, I uh... there's something I need to tell you. I think you should sit down."

Clark looked at her with confusion, but he sat down as Lois picked up Jon and sat beside him. "What's going on?"

January swallowed, wanting nothing more than to leave, but she promised Tim she'd tell him herself, in person.

"The Teen Titans have been investigating Cadmus labs, as you know," January started off.

Clark nodded, "Didn't the whole place get blown up last week?"

"Yeah, but before it did, one of the clones got out. Now, he-he wasn't ready, wasn't fully grown, so they hadn't implanted any of their mind-controlling software into his head yet. He's actually very nice, he's with the Titans in San Fransisco."

"Is he a threat?" Clark asked.

"No," January answered quickly. "Uh... the reason I'm telling you this is because he's-" January stopped and took a breath. "He's a clone of you, at 18." Clark blinked and then stared at January as she continued. "He goes by Conner. He has most of your memories from childhood."

"I... I don't know what to say," Clark said.

"Yeah... it's confusing for everyone. He goes by Superboy out in the field," January said. "I just thought that you should know." She stood from her seat and was going to leave.

"Jan, please, why don't you stay for dinner?" Lois asked.

January thought about that for a moment, she glanced at Clark who still looked like he was in shock. "Yeah, okay. Thank you."

Dinner went by awkwardly. Clark was mostly silent, Lois mostly trying to ask January questions about her life, and January trying to answer without making it too obvious that she was extremely uncomfortable.

"So, I've seen on the news that you and Robin are doing great work on stopping Gotham's drug trade," Lois said.

January smiled a bit, "It's a group effort, but yeah, we've been getting a lot done."

"I also saw in the tabloids that you and Tim are dating," Lois said.

January laughed, "No, that was funny though, Damian was furious."

Lois looked at her with confusion for a moment before the realization hit her. "Oh! Oh, so the two of you are- oh."

January blushed deeply, "Yeah, for a little while now. Try to keep it to yourselves."

"Of course."

Clark then seemed to snap out of the fog he had been in. "How's Bruce?"

January's smile fell, "He's... doing as well as could be expected."

Clark was bringing up unfortunate events of Bruce's wedding to Selina. She left him a note, telling him that she couldn't go through with it. He was heartbroken, but he was getting better.

"Well, I got to be heading back. I have patrol," January said. "It was nice meeting Jon." She turned to leave but then hesitated. "Um, I just wanted to say I'm sorry for the way I left. It wasn't a reflection on the two of you, it was just a reflection of me not really knowing to act around people."

Clark and Lois smiled kindly at her, "It's okay, January, really," Clark said.

January smiled slightly at Jon as she left.

That was the last time they saw her for almost another year and unfortunately, the next meeting between January and Clark wasn't so civil.

January had gotten sick, which had immediately raised a few red flags. She had never been sick, ever. Luthor had personally wired her immune system to be perfect. She shouldn't be getting sick.

The first day, she couldn't keep anything down, and the fever had started. The second day the fever had gotten worse and she began to lose energy rapidly. The third day, she could barely keep her eyes open for more than a few minutes at a time, and when she was lucid, it was clear that she was in a great deal of pain. This was beginning to prompt them to look into taking some drastic measures.

"No," Damian said firmly, standing between Superman and January. "Absolutely not."

"Damian, listen, we don't have any other choice. He's the only one who-"

"I will not allow that _lunatic_ to go near her again," Damian said.

Superman had an idea. Since Luthor was responsible for creating all the systems in her body, maybe he would be able to come up with a solution to whatever was happening to her. But Damian, who was always there whenever she had a panic attack about the things that they had done to her there, wasn't having it.

"The virus is Kryptonian, Damian. We can't do anything for her here," Bruce spoke for the first time. He didn't necessarily like the idea of giving her back to Luthor, but they did not have the technology needed to help.

Damian shook his head, "I don't care. You're going to send her back to the person who tortured her for _years_?!"

"We'll give her one more day to try and fight it off, but if her fever gets higher it could kill her," Bruce said.

Damian glared at the two of them, "She would rather be dead." He left the room quickly, leaving just Bruce and Clark.

"You shouldn't spend too much time here, if this is contagious it could be dangerous for Jon," Bruce said.

Clark shook his head, "Lois took him out to the farm so I could stay here." Clark fell silent for a moment, "Do you think he's right?"

"I don't know," Bruce said.

Meanwhile... Damian had taken the Batplane to the Titans Tower in San Fransisco. He wasn't there looking for the Teen Titans. He was there looking for a rock, and not just any rock, one that Conner had given to Tim, a shard of Kryptonite. Damian knew how to access it, Tim kept it foolishly unguarded. Before long, Damian had split the piece in two, and had some new additions to his arsenal of weapons. Twin escrima sticks that glowed green with the alien stone at the centre.

Damian returned that night to see that January was getting worse, Bruce and Clark were planning on taking her to Luthor.

He lept into action, taking Bruce by surprise and kicking him back, he then stood in front of Clark once again. "Don't make me do this."

"Move, Damian, we're trying to help," Clark said.

Damian shook his head and pulled out the sticks, "Well, don't say I didn't warn you." He pressed the button that released the lead shutters over the kryptonite. In an instant, Clark had taken three steps back.

Bruce pushed Clark back and confronted Damian, "Stop this. Now."

"No," Damian said seriously. "You're making a mistake."

"Stand. Down."

Damian attacked his father. They were a good match, but Bruce had the upper hand due to Damian's recent growth spurt which left him slightly off balance. Bruce had just pushed him back when he glanced at the heart monitor by January's bed.

"Damian, stop," Bruce said.

"No, I can't."

"You're hurting her, Damian," Bruce said and pointed at the girl.

Damian turned to see that even in unconsciousness, January wasn't having a good reaction to the kryptonite. Not as bad as Clark, who was still kneeling on the ground in agony. Damian quickly pressed the button to re-engage the lead cover, and they both went back to normal.

Damian was beside January in an instant, "I'm sorry," he said softly to her.

"Are you alright, Clark?" Bruce asked.

Clark stood shakily, "Yes, I'll be fine."

Clark and Bruce walked up to either side of Damian.

"I know you're worried about her, but I'll be there the whole time. He won't hurt her, I promise," Clark said.

Bruce looked over to Clark with a slightly disappointed expression. "He can't promise that, Damian. But we have to try."

Clark looked back at Bruce with surprise, he had been trying to reassure the boy, but looking at Damian, it seemed that Bruce's words had actually had a better impact on him.

Damian nodded smally, before leaving the cave. It didn't escape anyone's notice that he kept the kryptonite escrima sticks.

Clark picked her up and nodded at Bruce solemnly before flying off.

Bruce went upstairs to the manor, trying to find Damian, but it seemed that he didn't want to be found. He had given up until he heard Dick's voice.

"She's gonna be alright Dami," Dick was saying. Damian didn't reply. "She's strong Damian."

"She's afraid of him, and she's alone," Damian said.

"She's not alone, she has Superman with her," Dick said. That was the wrong thing to say though, Damian wasn't too pleased with Clark at the moment.

"And she will never forgive him for this," Damian said. He was done with their little talk.

As Damian walked away, he came across Bruce, who had been listening in. He shoved past the older man and went up to his room. Dick followed but stopped when he saw Bruce.

Dick shook his head slightly, "She better be okay Bruce. Cause if she's not..." He glanced up to where Damian had marched off to. "Neither is he."

Bruce went back down to the Batcave and waited for Clark to radio-in with some news. It wasn't too long until it happened.

"Batman, Luthor knows what to do. He says he can help her," Superman said.

Bruce paused for a moment, "Never let either of them out of your sight."

That night was a long one. Damian woke up screaming more times than both Dick and Bruce could remember. Superman said that it was... difficult to watch what was happening at Lex Corp.

Damian didn't eat anything the next day, he refused to go to school, he wouldn't talk to anyone, not even Dick, not even Alfred. When night came, Bruce wanted to stay home and try to get Damian to eat or speak, but he couldn't. He took Tim and Dick with him, maybe Damian needed some space, they had been trying to get him to say something all day.

This was precisely Damian's plan. The moment they left the cave, he called Todd.

"Damian? How the hell did you get my new number?" Jason asked.

"I need your help. Luthor has January," Damian said.

"What? Why isn't the Justice League on this?" Jason asked with confusion.

"They know, they are simply content to let him keep her. I have a plan, meet me at the cave as fast as you can."

"I'll be there in twenty minutes."

Damian got dressed into his suit, and Todd raced into the cave. They had to move fast, Alfred was upstairs and would only be up there for another 15 minutes before he came down and realized Damian was gone. Then he would likely call Bruce and inform him about what had happened. Damian and Jason needed to be far away when that happened.

"We'll take the Batplane. I know how to disable the autopilot," Damian said.

"Wait, kid, what are we expecting to come up against here?" Jason asked.

"Superman, and all of Luthor's security and defences," Damian answered.

Jason narrowed his eyebrows, "Superman?"

Damian didn't say anymore, instead, getting into the Batplane. Jason was starting to get the feeling that Damian was not telling him everything, and so discreetly as possible, he sent Dick a text of a lowercase d. It was their code for Damian.

They arrived at Lex Corp not long after, and Damian was not extremely surprised to see that Batman and Nightwing were waiting for them.

"Sorry kid, but this is a little insane, even for me," Jason said.

"Please, I was expecting this betrayal from you, Todd," Damian said. He looked at the three of them, "That's why Conner and Bizzaro are breaking in downstairs."

Bruce and Nightwing shared a look. But Jason, who didn't really know what was going on, turned to Bruce.

"Batman, what's going on here? You're letting Luthor take January back?" He asked.

"She was sick, he was the only person who could help her," Bruce said.

"He's torturing her!" Damian shouted back.

Jason crossed his arms, looking at Bruce again. "Bizzaro!" He shouted. They heard a lot of crashing and breaking glass, and then the giant Bizzaro was standing before them.

"Red him!" Bizzaro said. "Why here?"

"Just here to help buddy," Jason started. "If you listen really close, can you hear a girl? Is she alright?"

Bizzaro was silent for a moment, then he looked at Jason. "I hear girl. She is sad."

Jason glanced to Damian, "Do you have any Kryptonite?"

Damian revealed his escrima sticks. Jason took one and gave it to Bizzaro. "Bring her here, and use this to deal with Superman."

"Be back Red Him!" Bizzaro said before crashing off.

"Jason, she could die!" Bruce growled.

"Yeah, maybe she could," Jason said. "But there are things worse than death B."

They waited, and then there was more crashing, and then, finally, Bizzaro returned only holding the escrima stick, which he gave back to Jason. Jason was about to ask where January was, but then Conner flew up carrying her gently.

Damian quickly took her from Conner, "January, wake up, please," he murmured as he cradled her close to his chest.

Bruce and Nightwing shared a look before they both turned to Conner. "Where is Superman?"

"He's fine, but Red Robin is right, he doesn't even know how to throw a punch," Conner said.

Dick's mouth quirked upwards, but before he could make a witty comment, the man in question flew up to join them on the roof.

He looked at everyone gathered there with a great deal of confusion.

"What's going on?" He demanded.

"I'm taking January home," Damian said.

That was when they heard the laughing.

"Oh child, you saw right through me I'm afraid, luckily you're too late," Luthor's voice spoke from speakers that were set on the roof. Then a strange frequency that hurt everyone's ears had January's eyes open wide and push herself away from Damian. She landed on her feet and looked around her surroundings with confusion. "Attack them," Luthor ordered.

And she did, curiously, she did not attack Damian, who was the closest to her. She went to Conner first. He was inexperienced, and even with his slightly superior speed and strength, January had been training with Batman and Robin for years. She threw him into Bizzaro, sending them both flying off the roof. Then she turned around to find her next opponent when she suddenly stopped. She rocketed off the rooftop and out of their sight.

Damian was livid as he turned to Clark. "If we can't get her back-"

"Damian, enough. We have a bigger problem now. Everyone get back home. I'm calling in the Justice League," Batman said. The others dispersed, except for Batman, Superman and Damian.

Batman had gotten a location on her from the satellite, and they headed there.

"Damian, try to talk to her first. If you can sway her mind at all, we can use that to our advantage," Bruce said.

Damian looked at the two men with fury in his eyes, but he nodded. They met the responding members of the League (Wonder Woman, Batman, Superman, Flash and Green Arrow) in the isolated field that Luthor had picked for their confrontation. She was sitting there, but when she saw the League approaching, she stood. Luthor had given her a new suit. It was all black except for the yellow, backward symbol of hope on her chest.

Damian walked toward her, and she turned to face him. She didn't say anything, just stared.

"January?" He asked. He studied her eyes... and there was nothing. Something deep, deep inside her didn't want to attack him, but he figured that more likely due to the fact that Luthor probably hadn't hard-wired him as a threat into her head. She didn't remember him, she didn't love him anymore. And it was all Superman's fault. "I know you don't know who I am. But I- I love you very much, and I can't hurt you. So... let me help you hurt the people that did this to you."

"Robin!" Batman yelled from his position next to Superman. January nodded slightly, and they assumed a back to back position. Batman took several steps forward, "Robin! What are you doing?!"

Damian dropped a smoke pellet and before anyone could see, January was behind Bruce, knocking his legs out from under him with her bo staff. Then Damian was there, attacking him from the front. When the smoke cleared, the rest of the Justice League saw January kneeling on the back of an unmoving Batman. Robin came and stood in front of her, and offered her a hand.

She looked up at him for a second before taking his hand.

The other members of the League were about to jump into action, but Superman came forward, "Just wait. Let me," he said to Diana.

Diana, Barry and Oliver shared a look, but they allowed him to approach the kids.

Damian stepped back, he didn't have the tools to hurt him without hurting January, and he didn't want that. Not yet.

January spun the bo staff and ran at the man. Clark was a lot of things. He was twice as fast as her, twice as strong, he had more powers, but he couldn't even throw a punch correctly.

It was a close fight, but unlike their last encounter, neither of them were particularly holding back. He hit harder, but she hit more often, and more importantly, she knew where to hit. He tended to concentrate his attacks on her body, but that was the strongest part of her. She knew to attack him in places that would cause pain, not necessarily damage. Clark wasn't used to pain, not when there was only a handful of people capable of inflicting it upon him.

He blasted her with his freeze-vision, but she shattered the ice. He shot at her with his laser vision, but it simply bounced off her skin.

She broke his nose, his ankle, and shattered his wrist.

He was gasping, blood was running down his face when she finally managed to get a hard blow to the back of his head with her staff, and that was that. Superman fell beside Batman.

January spit out blood on the ground, and she stepped forward, preparing to deal with Wonder Woman, Flash and Green Arrow.

"January," Damian started. "You might want one of these." He tossed her one of the escrima sticks which she grabbed without hesitation. She trusted him, he noted, that would make doing what he had to do next harder.

He stood beside her, and pressed the button on the stick he was holding. Suddenly, both pieces of Kryptonite were revealed and January dropped the stick. Damian took the single moment of shock to get behind her. He quickly put her into a chokehold. He needed her to be unconscious, he couldn't fight her, he couldn't bring himself to use the kryptonite on her for an extended period of time. But this, her hands weakly trying to stop him, it broke his heart.

When she finally went limp, he released her and double-checked to see if she was breathing. She was. Damian wiped the rogue tear from his cheek and then looked at the remaining standing Justice League members.

"When Superman wakes up, tell him if I see him again I'll kill him," Damian said. None of them thought he wasn't serious. He picked up January and went to the Batplane. He strapped her into the co-pilot seat and then came back for Bruce, who was just starting to come to. He helped his father get into the plane, then he went home.


End file.
